Monday, November 23, 2009

Sitting Up Straight Isn’t All That It’s “Cracked” Up To Be

sittingstraight Scottish researchers reported that sitting up straight is actually bad for your back (so much for all that nagging from your Mom to sit up straight). The researchers took MRI scans of 22 volunteers. They found that sitting upright at a 90-degree angle put enough pressure on the lower back to squeeze fluid from the disks that cushion the vertebrae.

So, what’s the best position? Slouching! Well, it’s slouching with a caveat: Your knees should to be three to four inches lower than your hips, and you need to recline slightly (instead of sitting at a 90-degree angle, lean back to a 135-degree angle) and voila, the pressure is off.

(As reported in Prevention Magazine)

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